To Tempt A Troubled Earl is the first in the Regency Rossingley series, and is set on the same estate as the contemporary series. This is a slow burn tale with a revenge scheme and plenty of heat as two men find each other, and what they don't know they need.
From the blurb:
A chancer and a rogue, Kit Angel is down on his luck. Presenting himself at Rossingley Hall in the dead of night, he begs an audience with the eleventh earl, the most enigmatic nobleman in Regency England.
The visit has purpose. Kit, hungry to ruin the baronet who ruined his sister, believes Rossingley is the only man who can help him.
Lando Duchamps-Avery, Eleventh Earl of Rossingley, doesn’t trust the sinfully handsome stranger one bit. He does not care for the tales he spins, his hot temper, or his thick, ebony curls. And, most definitely, he is not in thrall to the delicious golden hoop dangling from Kit Angel’s left ear. Lando has his own motivations to ruin the same lord, and the two men form an uneasy alliance.
As the dangerous plot they hatch unfurls, the suspicious earl and the shady scoundrel are increasingly thrown together. Whilst the wily earl gradually surrenders to his growing attraction, Kit can’t make up his mind if he wants to swive him, declare undying love for him, or throttle him.
Bit by bit, as mutual desire swells between them, Kit wins over the earl’s body, his passion, and his trust.
But in order to win the earl’s elusive heart? The scoundrel must risk losing everything.
This first book in the new Rossingley Regency romance series introduces Lando Duchamps-Avery, nineteenth-century predecessor to Dr Lucian Avery of the contemporary Rossingley romance series. With Lando’s story, we return to southern England and the Rossingley estate. This book can be read as a standalone.
Rogue's review:
- Historical romance
- New series
- Slow Burn
- Antagonists to lovers
This is the first of a new series, a regency romance set on the Rossingley estate. Lando is an ancestor of the current-day Earl of Rossingley, and shares more than a few similarities with Lucian. When we meet him, he's grieving the loss of his long term lover and is deep in depression. Kit is the nephew of said lover and comes to Lando for help, but perhaps doesn't go about it very well at the start. They both have their different reasons to want to get even with the odious neighbour of Rossingley, and once we're past the initial hostility and misunderstanding, things move along between the two.
What follows is Lando's brilliant and devious mind hatching a plan to ruin said neighbour and take his land, while Kit gets to avenge his sister. I liked both men very much. Lando does share much with the modern day Earl, including his pearls and a fondness for nightwear, along with some food issues and a loss so great it's devastating. These two together though are wonderful. I loved finding out more about Kit and his story too, and Kit's antagonistic relationship with his bodyguard/valet Jasper was hilarious too. I loved the cast of supporting characters too and wouldn't be averse to seeing some of them again in future books.
Although the plan is a bit convoluted it of course all comes good in the end and even though I wanted the odious Gartside to pay a bit more, I'm satisfied with the outcome. Though this is a slow burn, there's plenty of heat and the story does move along so the book itself isn't slow. I loved being back at Rossingley, even in the past and I'm definitely keen for more. I adore historical romance.
First in series (Regency Rossingley). Historical. Adversarial to lovers. Age gap. Slow burn. Dual POV.
Using his knowledge of his uncle’s past relationship with the Earl of Rossingley, Kit tries to pressure Lando into helping him avenge the wrongs done to his sister by a local baronet. Lando certainly doesn’t trust Kit, but he agrees to help, and the Earl embroils Kit in a planned con game to seek revenge.
Kit and Lando certainly have chemistry, and slowly embark on an affair while they spend time together. The power imbalance was something I had a hard time getting over, although Lando tried very hard to treat Kit equally even if at times he couldn’t see Kit’s point of view readily. I really enjoyed all the supportive secondary characters as there was no need to hide anything and they were incredibly loyal to Lando. Every moment of Kit and Lando on page together was meaningful, sometimes adversarial but eventually always sweet, and both characters were likable and intelligent and had no problem communicating their strong feelings for each other.
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